January 17th, 2023 Board Meeting

MOVTA had their first board meeting of the year on January 17th to discuss the upcoming year and some exciting changes (to be announced). We are EXCITED to announce the 2023 President is Connie Stager, RVT. For this year, MOVTA wants to focus on public education and awareness of veterinary technology as well as raising awareness of currently existing statutes for title protection for veterinary technicians and assistants. Legislative chair Stephanie Gilliam, RVTg, MS, CCRP, VTS (Neurology) penned a letter to Missouri veterinarians requesting proper title protection and usage for "technician" et al. This letter is publicly available on our website and promoted online through our various social media outlets, but will also be mailing a printed letter to every registered clinic in Missouri. We are also reaching out to the Missouri Nursing Board and Nursing Association requesting a public statement on the use of "nurse" for veterinary personnel.

Board members will be attending the Missouri Veterinary Medical Association (MVMA)'s Conference January 27-29th and are hoping to garner support from attending DVMs by signing a pledge of commitment to refer to all members of the veterinary healthcare team in the practice they work by their appropriate and legal titles, reserving the titles “technician” and/or “tech” for credentialed veterinary technicians and “assistants” to non-credentialed staff. Attendees signing the pledge will receive a digital certificate to print and display in their clinics and post on social media outlets and be placed into a raffle to win 2023 Memberships for their entire team (up to 10 memberships).

Additionally, board members will be representing MO technicians at MVMA's "Veterinary Technician & Practice Staff" and "RVT Utilization Taskforce" committee meetings during the MVMA conference to work towards furthering title protection & enforcement as well as a more defined scope of practice for RVTs in MO. In order to best represent not only our members but all RVTs and assistants in the state, we have created a survey on hot topics for all veterinary practice team members in Missouri.